| Waiting for the Interurban | |
|---|---|
 Waiting for the Interurban, by Richard Beyer. | |
| Artist | Richard Beyer |
| Year | 1978 |
| Type | Cast aluminum sculpture |
| Location | Seattle |
| 47°38′58″N 122°20′58″W / 47.649467°N 122.349455°W | |
Waiting for the Interurban, also known as People Waiting for the Interurban,[1] is a 1978 cast aluminum sculpture collection in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle. It is located on the southeast corner of N. 34th Street and Fremont Avenue N., just east of the northern end of the Fremont Bridge. It consists of six people and a dog waiting for public transportation — specifically, the Seattle-Everett Interurban. While the interurban railway ran through Fremont from 1910 until 1939, it stopped on Fremont Avenue rather than N. 34th Street, which the statue faces.[2]
The sculptor, Fremont resident Richard Beyer, included several subtleties in the sculpture which reward close viewing. The face of the dog was sculpted to resemble Fremont political leader and the city's "godfather of recycling" Armen "Napoleon" Stephanian, with whom Beyer had public disagreements in the 1970s.[3] People living and working in the Fremont neighborhood often dress the characters in apparel appropriate to a season or local event.[4]
- ^ "People Waiting for the Interurban, (sculpture)". Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on December 24, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
- ^ Frederick Bird (May 2000). "The Seattle-Everett Interurban Railway, 1910-1939" (PDF). Snohomish County History Series. Snohomish County, Washington. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
- ^ Ramierz, Marc (June 2, 2002). "The face of Fremont. Wily. Inventive. Unrestrained. Showman". The Seattle Times. p. L1. Archived from the original on August 22, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
- ^ "Richard Beyer's Waiting for the Inter-Urban in Fremont is a particularly popular artwork frequently used to celebrate events such as birthdays and bon voyages; celebrants often embellish the sculpture according to the occasion.", Landscape Architecture, vol. 78, no. 5–8, p. 57, 1988